NORTHERN Rail and TransPennine Express have been urged to "step up" by a northern transport body.

The December timetable change last Sunday, has led to a high volume of cancellations, shortened trains and overcrowding, according to Transport for the North.

Between Monday, December 15 and Thursday, December 17, only 66.05 per cent of Northern Rail's services met the basic industry performance measure.

This equates to being with five or 10 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.

Transport for the North is calling on both Northern and TransPennine Express to "step up, and be open and honest".

David Hoggarth, Transport for the North’s Strategic Rail Director, said: "Already weary passengers are being tested to their limit and Christmas cheer is running short.

"The services from both operators have been way below par, with so many delays and cancellations.

"The impact of that is northerners being late for work, missing their children's bedtime, spending hours to travel short distances and simply avoiding trains.

"Too often they are left standing on the platform with little or no idea of what is happening – a rough welcome home for Christmas.

"As part of our Rail North Committee, the North's leaders have been scrutinising operators intensively throughout the year ahead of this timetable change.

"We repeatedly urged the changes to be realistic and deliverable; for detailed contingency packages to be in place; for the rollout of new trains to be intensively monitored; and for staffing issues to be ironed out well in advance.

"We were repeatedly reassured that these matters would be effectively tackled. They weren't.

"Passengers are again paying the price."